Willamette Falls - Locks - Exercise Circuit - L5 - T2532

To sign up for this trip get on the  "Request Approval Waitlist"  waitlist. When you are approved for the trip the TO will send you a password for a "Approved For Trip by TO" ticket.

Reminder: if this is a mentored trip, Trips should ask the mentor to file a post-trip report including answers to the standard questions about the provisional organizer
Timestamp 3/21/2025 7:14:56
Full Name: Jon Light-Powell
Email address: jon.n.powell@gmail.com
Phone: 805 218 5622
Activity Title: Willamette Falls - Locks - Exercise Circuit
Date of Activity: 4/1/2025
Narrative: Come Join me in this annual National Parks Willamette Falls Locks Day. This is the only day of the year when the NPS opens the Boat Locks at Willamette Falls to small boats (like Kayaks) for Navigation around the falls. This year the river height is just right and the NPS Lock schedule (hourly) is perfect for doing some quick circuit training. We will be meeting at 6:00am at the Sports Craft Landing to make it upstream to the down-river lock entry at the first up river lock passage time of 7:00. The lock lift evolution takes about 30 minutes. This leaves us about 20 minutes to exit the lock at the top of the river and quickly paddle downstream over the falls and back to the entrance to the locks for the 8:00 lift. What Fun!!

If this is too sedate for you, consider joining the other pod that will be doing the reverse of this circuit. The up-falls group will have to maintain a 20 knot speed in L10 conditions, but what great Exercise !!

Please be aware that even the down-falls group will entail more kayak skill than the typical L2 paddle as we will be going over a set of waterfalls that have signage that promises "Certain Death". Take this into consideration when packing your lunch.

I tried to get some of the people that went last year to write some promo-plugs but none of them were available for comment.

Meeting Time: 5:00:00 AM
Launch Time: 6:00:00 AM
Type of activity: Paddle Trip
Put in: Sports Craft Landing
Take out: Where Ever
Route Alternative for bad weather: River View Pub
Required equipment: Helmet, Towline
Minimum Immersion protection: None
Primary Organizer: Jon Light-Powell
Co-Organizer(s): Peggy Liggit
Has organizer paddled here before? No
Has organizer led an OOPS paddle here before? No
Organizer's first aid and CPR current? Yes
First Aid /CPR Person: Really Doesn't Matter in this particular case
Maximum number of paddlers: 0
I certify that I understand and will conduct this activity in accordance with the OOPS Activity Policy: Yes
Estimated Air Temperature: 54.216
Estimated Water Temperature: 48.772
Estimated Water Time (including breaks/lunch): 10 hours
Tide times & heights: NA
Current information: 15 to 20 Knotts over the falls
Hazards:
Wind strength: Level 1: 0-7 knots (8 mph)
Swell/Surf size: Level 1: Under 1' waves, no breaking waves
Sea state: Level 1: Waves up to the deck seam; water glassy to rippled, no whitecaps
Landing types: Level 1: Frequent easy landing opportunities including gently sloping, sand, gravel or grass
Currents: Level 5: Greater than 6 knots
Total distance: Level 1: Up to 6 miles
Open crossing: Level 1: Less than 0.5 miles
Paddling Environment:
Overall rating: Level 5
Rating Comments: Don't know why this should be a L5 trip, there is only one category over L1
Location: Willamette Falls
Photos (Optional):
COVID-19 Status of Trip: All participants of this trip must be vaccinated for Covid-19
Tide Station: Half is non-tidal
Link to map of route (Optional)